Method and System for Representation of Current and Historical Medical Data

ABSTRACT

A method and system for reporting medical data including both current and past medical results for medical tests performed on a patient is provided. The medical data is output in columns, and the current results and past results of the same medical test are presented in the same row. In this manner, the report is provided in a layout that has rows and columns, so that all current results are presented in one column, and all past results are presented in a separate column. In addition, graphs of the medical results can be displayed to illustrate current and past medical results in a view that allows for trend and comparative diagnosis.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present application relates to representations of medical data, andmore particularly to graphical and textual displays of current andhistorical medical data pertaining to a subject undergoing testing.

BACKGROUND

A medical record, health record or medical chart is a systematicdocumentation of a subject's (human patient or animal) medical historyand care. A medical record includes both a physical folder for eachindividual patient and contains the body of information that comprisesthe total of each patient's health history. Medical history of a subjectis gained by a physician or other healthcare professional by askingspecific questions, either of the patient or of other people who knowthe person and can give suitable information, with the aim of obtaininginformation useful in formulating a diagnosis and providing medical careto the patient.

Medical histories vary in their depth and focus. For example, ambulanceparamedics may typically limit their history to important details suchas name, history of presenting complaint, allergies etc. In contrast, apsychiatric history can be lengthy and in depth since many details abouta patient's life are relevant to formulating a management plan for apsychiatric illness.

Information in a medical record is necessary to provide continuity ofcare so that all appropriate health care providers have access to thehealth history. The medical record also serves as a basis for planningpatient care, to document communication between health care providers,to assist in protecting legal interests, and to document care andservices provided to the subject.

Traditionally, medical records have been written on paper and kept infolders. The folders are typically divided into useful sections, withnew information added to each section chronologically as the patientexperiences new medical issues. Active records are usually housed at theclinical site, but older records (e.g., those of the deceased) are oftenkept in separate facilities.

The advent of electronic medical records (EMR) has changed some of theformat of medical records, but mainly has increased accessibility offiles. Even so, existing formats for viewing medical records can lackthe ability to view both current and historical data pertaining to asubject in a display readily accessible for diagnosing the subject.

SUMMARY

Within embodiments disclosed below, a method of reporting medical datais provided. The method includes receiving current result data ofmedical tests performed on a patient and outputting the current resultdata of the medical tests in a layout having rows and columns. Themethod also includes outputting previous result data of medical testsperformed on the same patient in the layout in a separate column, sothat previous result data and current result data of the same medicaltest are in the same row in the layout.

The method may additionally include receiving a request to output agraph of medical data pertaining to a selected medical test andoutputting the graph of the medical data in the layout. The graphincludes data points corresponding to current result data and previousresult data of the selected medical test and an axis of the graphcorresponds to a date of the current result or the previous result datapoint. The method can also include outputting a graphical indicator foreach medical test that indicates whether the current result data of themedical test is low, normal or high, wherein the graphical indicator isa slidebar that illustrates a measurement value for the medical test andthe graphical indicator is output in the layout in a column between thecurrent result data and the previous result data so that the previousresult data, the current result data and the graphical indicator of thesame medical test are in the same row in the layout. Alternatively,graphical methods other than the slidebar can be used to representmedical information for which a slidebar is not the most effective meansof visually communicating the information. Furthermore, the method mayalso include outputting a range of reference data pertaining to eachmedical test in the layout in a column between the current result dataand the previous result data so that the previous result data, thecurrent result data and the range of reference data of the same medicaltest are in the same row in the layout, wherein the range of referencedata defines values for results of the medical test pertaining to a lowand a high result.

The method may also include outputting standard deviation informationfor the data via text and/or graphical means, and may provide aone-touch method for triggering the automatic generation of a graph thatincludes current and historical results data with or without standarddeviation information.

In another embodiment, a graphical interface for displaying medical datais provided that includes medical data pertaining to current results ofmedical tests in a layout having rows and columns and medical datapertaining to previous results of the medical tests in the layout in acolumn by the current results, so that previous results and currentresults of the same medical test are in the same row in the layout. Thegraphical interface also includes a graph in the layout illustratingmedical data for a medical test in which the graph includes data pointscorresponding to current result data and previous result data.

In still another embodiment, a computer readable medium that has programcode recorded thereon for execution on a computer to provide a report ofmedical data is provided. The medium includes a first program code foroutputting medical data pertaining to current results of medical testsin a layout having rows and columns, and a second program code foroutputting medical data pertaining to previous results of the medicaltests in the layout in a column, so that previous results and currentresults of the same medical test are in the same row in the layout.

These and other aspects will become apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art by reading the following detailed description, with referencewhere appropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further, it should beunderstood that the embodiments noted herein are not intended to limitthe scope of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system for reporting medicaldata.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary functional steps of amethod executable by a processor to output a medical data report.

FIG. 3 illustrates one example output of a medical data report.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example output of a medical data report.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary functional steps forgenerating a graph of medical data for presentation in a report.

FIG. 6 is an example illustration of a graph generated using a method ofthe present invention.

FIG. 7 is another example illustration of a graph generated using themethod of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application provides a manner of reporting medical dataincluding both current and past medical results for medical testsperformed on a patient in a display readily accessible for diagnosingthe subject. In addition, graphs of the medical results can be displayedto illustrate current and past medical results in a view that allows fortrend and comparative diagnosis.

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a system for reporting medicaldata. The system includes a medical device 100 that outputs to a printer102 and a display device 104. The medical device 100 includes an inputinterface 106 that receives medical readings from a patient, such as aperson or animal, and sends the readings to a processor 108. The inputinterface 106 may also receive inputs from a user including instructionsfor processing the medical readings. The processor 108 accesses memory110 to execute any of the software functions 112 stored therein, such asto receive the medical readings, analyze and process the readings, andto present the data to the printer 102 or the display device 104, forexample. The processor 108 further accesses the memory 110 to retrievestored historical data 114, or past medical results, and may combine thehistorical data 114 with the received medical readings to be output tothe printer 102 or the display device 104 through an output interface 116. A system bus or an equivalent system may also be provided to enablecommunications between various elements of the medical device 100, theprinter 102 or the display device 104.

The medical device 100 may be of the type provided by IDEXXLaboratories, Inc., of Westbrook, Me., USA. For example, the medicaldevice 100 may be one of those within the IDEXX VetLab® Suite thatdelivers information on blood chemistries, proteinuria, electrolytes,hematology, endocrinology and blood gases. Such devices include theVetTest® instrument, the LaserCyte® hematology analyzer, the VetLyte®electrolyte analyzer, or the VetStat® blood gas analyzer, for example.

The medical device 100 generally can range from a hand-held device,laptop, or personal computer to a larger computer such as a workstationand multiprocessor. The medical device 100 may also include an inputdevice, such as a keyboard and/or a two or three-button mouse, if sodesired. One skilled in the art of computer systems will understand thatthe example embodiments are not limited to any particular class or modelof computer employed for the medical device 100 and will be able toselect an appropriate system.

In addition, the input interface 106 may include any standard medicalinterface for collecting desired medical readings from a patient, eitherhuman or animal. Further, the input interface 106 and the outputinterface 116 may be any standard computer interface and may include,for example, a keyboard. However, other interfaces may be used as well.Moreover, the memory 110 may include main memory and secondary storage.The main memory may include random access memory (RAM). Main memory canalso include any additional or alternative memory device or memorycircuitry. Secondary storage can be provided as well and may bepersistent long term storage, such as read only memory (ROM), optical ormagnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), or any othervolatile or non-volatile storage systems. The memory 110 may includemore software functions 112 as well, for example, executable by theprocessor 108 to record signals from a patient and interpret the signalsas medical readings. The software functions 112 may be provided usingmachine language instructions or software with object-orientedinstructions, such as the Java programming language. However, otherprogramming languages (such as the C++ programming language forinstance) could be used as well.

Furthermore, the processor 108 may operate according to an operatingsystem, which may be any suitable commercially available embedded ordisk-based operating system, or any proprietary operating system. Theprocessor 108 may comprise one or more smaller central processing units,including, for example, a programmable digital signal processing engine.The processor 108 may also be implemented as a single applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC) to improve speed and to economizespace.

It should be further understood that this and other arrangementsdescribed herein are for purposes of example only. As such, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that other arrangements and otherelements (e.g. machines, interfaces, functions, orders, and groupings offunctions, etc.) can be used instead, and some elements may be omittedaltogether according to the desired results. Further, many of theelements that are described are functional entities that may beimplemented as discrete or distributed components or in conjunction withother components, in any suitable combination and location.

The medical device 100 operates to output a medical report to thedisplay device 104 and the printer 102. The report includes thehistorical data 114 of a patient along with the current medical readingsof the same patient. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating functional stepsof a method 200 executable by the processor 108 to output the report.Initially, current results of medical tests and/or other informationrelating to a subject are received into the medical device 100, as shownat block 202. The processor 108 will then retrieve past results ofmedical tests performed on the same subject from the historical data114, as shown at block 204. The past medical results may include onlythe most recent results, the results over a prior period of time, or allthe past results pertaining to the subject under test. Furthermore, thepast medical results may include only results pertaining to the medicaltests currently performed, all results for all medical tests performedon the subject, or a selected amount or type of results for medicaltests that have been performed on the subject. Any combination of numberof results, or type of results may be retrieved.

Next, the processor 108 will output to the printer 102 and/or displaydevice 104 the past and current results of the medical tests in columns,so that the current results and past results of the same medical testare presented in the same row, as shown at block 206. In this manner,the report is provided in a layout that has rows and columns, so thatall current results are presented in one column, and all past resultsare presented in a separate column. Further, past and current results ofthe same medical test performed on the same subject are presented in thesame row.

Thus, the processor 108 may output a graphical user interface (GUI) tothe display device 104 that shows the medical data. The processor 108may execute the software functions 112 to create the data layout, andadditional charts or graphs, on the display device 104. The displaydevice 104 illustrates the graphical user interface, which enables auser to analyze medical data in a visual display and accepts userinputs/instructions to illustrate selected data in a desired manner.

The graphical user interface (GUI) may be of a standard type of userinterface allowing a user to interact with a computer that employsgraphical images in addition to text to represent information andactions available to the user. Actions may be performed through directmanipulation of graphical elements, which include windows, buttons,menus, and scroll bars, for example.

In addition, the processor 108 may optionally output a graph of medicaldata pertaining to a selected medical test, as shown at block 208. Thegraph will include data points corresponding to current and previousresults of the selected medical test. The graph may be included withinthe same medical report as the current and historical medical data, orwithin a separate report as well. In the instance that the report isoutput to the display device 104, the graph may be included within aseparate “pop-up” window in the GUI.

FIG. 3 illustrates one example output of the report. As shown, thereport presents data within columns 302-312. Data within column 302includes a name of the compound being tested, and data within column 304includes the current result of the medical test with a numerical valueand unit. Data within column 306 includes a textual indicatoridentifying if the current result is “HIGH” or “LOW” with regard to arange of reference data pertaining to the medical test that definesvalues for results of the medical test pertaining to a low and a highresult. The range of reference data is included within column 308. Theindicators in column 306 may only be shown when the current resultexceeds the critical high or critical low defined within the range ofreference data, for example.

A result may be considered abnormal if the result falls outside of therange of reference data. When a result is abnormal and displayed on acolor screen, the test name, result data, units and high/low indicatormay be displayed in a color distinguishable from the other results. Whena result is abnormal and displayed on a black and white screen orprintout (e.g. faxed results), the test name, result number, units andhigh/low indicator may appear in bold text. This provides a non-colordependant approach to indicating abnormal results. Other distinguishingvisual characteristics may be used as well.

The report further includes graphical indicators in column 310, whichare slidebars that include marks to illustrate where the test resultfalls within a predetermined range and whether the current result ishigh or low. The slidebars may also include additional marks eithershadowed or otherwise differentiated to illustrate whether previousresults have been high or low for the same medical test performed on thesame subject. The slidebars may, for example, occupy 30% of the widthused to display the report, not including margins. Other types ofgraphical indicators may be used as well, such as a standard odometertype, a vertical slidebar, or color indicators, for example. In additionthe slidebar marks can include lateral indicia, such as attached dashmarks (not shown), that relate to the standard deviation of the valuebeing presented. The magnitude of the standard deviation can bepreprogrammed into memory. Displaying one or more marks with integralstandard deviation values will enable the physician to more easily makea visual determination if the medical information (e.g., test result) isout of a predetermined range.

A majority of margin space for a report is concentrated on theright-hand side. This provides an area for the medical staff to write ifthe report is printed out on paper. A portion of this space can also beused to present the previous results for medical tests performed on thesame subject, as shown in column 312. Of course, the previous resultdata column may be placed in other positions within the layout of thereport. The previous results may include only the most recent test eventthat includes any of the data series shown on the report pertaining tothe current results, for example, and will display the previous resultsin the additional column of data. As a subsequent expansion of thisfeature, the additional column could include data that is a composite ofthe most recent results from multiple test events corresponding to thetests currently performed. As mentioned, the previous results datacolumn 312 may include data from any combination of a number of previousresults, age of the results, or type of results.

The report may also include patient identification, as shown at 314, andtest identification within section headers, as shown at 316 and 318.Also, information pertaining to individual tests, such as test 316 and318, is grouped together in adjacent rows as shown in the report. Thetests results pertaining to “Chemistry” are positioned in adjacent rows,while the tests pertaining to “Immunoassay” are shown in a separatesection of the layout. The section headers may be the name of themedical test or the name of the instrument recording the medicalreadings, for example.

The data in the report is in a layout such that all current result datais contained within one column (e.g., column 304) and all previousresult data is contained within a separate column (e.g., column 312),while previous result data and current result data of the same medicaltest are presented in the same row in the layout. In this manner, thecurrent result data can be compared with the previous result data byscrolling from left to right across the report. Thus, the data can bepresented on the report in a table structure or format, so that all datawithin a given column corresponds to results collected on the same day,and all data within a given row corresponds to results collected fromthe same medical test. Using this structure, medical data pertaining toa specific result may be contained within a cell of the table.

Further, in the instance in which all previous result data in column 312pertains to one testing date, additional columns may be provided to theright of column 312, if space is available, to provide data from otherprevious testing dates.

Dates and times corresponding to the date and time for performing thecurrent tests to obtain the current results and for when the previousresults were obtained are also included in the report. The format forDate/Time data will be controlled by the localization settings of theapplication. As a general rule, Date/Time display may be no moredetailed than is necessary to make a meaningful distinction, forexample. The Date/Time data is shown in the column pertaining to theprevious result, as well as in the column pertaining to the currentresult data. Alternatively, asterisks and other superscripted characterscan be used to tie the results to the Date/Time for the test eventslisted in a footer or comment area.

The report may additionally include other information or graphics. Forexample, the report may include charts or graphs that illustrate trendsof the medical data over time. FIG. 4 illustrates an example output ofthe report with two graphs for two data series, e.g., Ca and SpecificGravity. A user may select data to be output on the report in the graph.Alternatively, graphs may be automatically generated and output on thereport for any single data series based on a set of predetermined rules.As an example of a graph generating rule set, a graph may beautomatically included in a report if the current result is abnormal andat least two previous data points for that series exist. For example, inthe report shown in FIG. 4, the current results for Ca are outside ofthe reference range, and thus a graphical representation of the resultsfor testing of Ca over the past seven years is included within thereport.

An auto-generated graph will include proportional time scales with timemarkers determined by a proportional division of the time when datapoints were collected, and a y-axis divided into thirds with the middlethird representing the normal range to follow the standard establishedfor slidebars. Data points corresponding to abnormal or out of referencerange may be displayed in red.

The graphs are shown at the bottom of the report, however, the graphsmay be positioned elsewhere in the report as desired. The graphs arepositioned outside of the data table structure containing the medicalresults, but within the layout of the report.

The report in FIG. 4 illustrates both current and historical medicaldata in a column format to allow for a comparison of the data in atextual format, as well as current and historical data in a graphicalrepresentation to allow for a comparison of the data in an illustrativeformat. In addition, the medical report allows for years of medical datato be presented in a compressed format onto one page and allows enoughdetail to show multiple trends within multiple medical tests for apatient.

A user may indicate to the system that an additional graph is requiredby using a cursor to select a slidebar or row of data of interest, or bymoving a cursor over a slidebar of interest to cause a window with thecurrent/historical data on a graph to pop up or otherwise appear layeredover the current information on the screen or other display device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating functional steps for manuallygenerating a graph of the medical data for presentation in the report(as opposed to automatic graph generation, described above and below).Initially, a user of the medical device will select test events forwhich a graph is desired, as shown at block 502. For example, a userwill select one or more test events from the full range of datarecording events in the patient's record to display a graph thatincludes the current results and past results as data points. Next, auser selects data series to be graphed, such as test results pertainingto a certain weight or blood chemistry level, for example, as shown atblock 504. Following, a data range from which data of the currentresults and past results are chosen is selected to be graphed(preferably automatically though software), as shown at block 506. Last,a graph is generated and displayed, as shown at block 508.

The graphs will include the current and past medical data as datapoints. One axis of the graph will be the units corresponding to themedical data, and the other axis will be the date at which the medicaldata was recorded and may only include month and year or whatever valueis needed to differentiate the data points from one another.

FIG. 6 is an example illustration of a graph generated using the methodshown in FIG. 5. The graph may include a header 602 with patientinformation, and a title 604 to indicate the test event that wasselected, e.g., Alb. An x-axis 606 displays the date of the data point.First and last date/time markers are determined by the date/time of theearliest and latest test events. The two middle markers are calculatedto divide the x-axis into four equal length segments. Only as muchspecificity as is needed to differentiate all four markers is displayed,for example. If all test events occurred over the span of four weeks, aday/month/year may be shown. If all test events occurred within a singleday, a day/month/year and hour/minute may be shown. Alternatively, adate may be shown on the x-axis corresponding to each data point toindicate the specific day at which the medical data at the data pointwas collected.

Thus, the x-axis may use a non-linear time-scale, or a linear time-scaledepending on the existing data points. The most historic data point willbe plotted nearest the y-axis, with time progressing from left to rightacross the x-axis. Alternatively, when the interface is localized for aright to left reading culture the orientation of the x-axis may bereversed.

The y-axis can be divided into any portioned segments as desired. Asshown, the y-axis is divided into thirds and shows a relative scale forthe data series. The graph may also include a table 608 that textuallyshows the data points (result and date recorded) for the test that isgraphed, as well as data for other tests not graphed. A user may selectone of the data series corresponding to a particular test to update thegraph with the data points for the data series. As shown, the datapoints for the test corresponding to Alb are graphed. Alternatively, theinformation in the columns and rows of table 608 can be switched, i.e.the dates can be column headers and each row can represent particularmedical parameters.

Data within the table may be color coded using red/black to indicateabnormal/normal results in a manner that is consistent with the reportformat without the need to display reference ranges. For example, datashown in red may be interrupted as results out of a reference range. Inaddition, the column headings may be color coded corresponding to thecolor used to graph the data to act as a legend for the graph.

In addition, the graph may display multiple trends, as shown in FIG. 7.The graph function may be set up to allow a user to choose multiple dataseries to graph. A user may select any data series for which there areat least two test events that contain a measurement, however, there isno limit to the number of testing events that may be graphed. The graphin FIG. 7 illustrates four trends for the data series corresponding tothe tests for Ca, TP, Alb, and Glob as shown in title 702.

When multiple trends are selected to be graphed, distinguishable datapoint indicators 704 may be used for each data series so that thecombination of color and shape can provide a differentiation for users.Also, if there is room (e.g. taking into account legibility andnon-interference with graphical information), numerical values ofparticular data points can be displayed on the graph (e.g. the actualCa, TP, Alb and Glob values can be placed next to their respective datapoints if a predetermined amount of room is available). In addition, thedescriptor for each set of data can be placed in proximity to itsrespective plot to aid the user in identifying the particular parameterwhile looking at the graph. The graph display may also include a buttonto allow a user to select all the data to be graphed as shown in FIGS. 6and 7.

Note that while the present application has been described in thecontext of a fully functional medical data reporting system and method,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanism of thepresent application is capable of being distributed in the form of acomputer-readable medium of instructions in a variety of forms, and thatthe present application applies equally regardless of the particulartype of signal bearing media used to actually carry out thedistribution. Examples of such computer-accessible devices includecomputer memory (RAM or ROM), floppy disks, and CD-ROMs, as well astransmission-type media such as digital and analog communication links.The mechanism also applies to output on paper.

The terms “test data”, “test results”, “result data”, “medical data”,“medical tests”, “medical information” (and the like) relate to anyinformation a medical practitioner might record with respect to aparticular patient. This information can include, for example, physicalcharacteristics (such as height and weight), physical observations (suchas coughing, sneezing, cuts, bruises, limping, skin disorders and dentalmatters) and physiological tests (such as blood tests, fecal tests andurine tests).

It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded asillustrative rather than limiting, and it is intended to be understoodthat the following claims including all equivalents define the scope ofthe invention.

1. A method of reporting medical data comprising: receiving currentresult data of medical tests performed on a patient; outputting thecurrent result data of the medical tests in a layout having rows andcolumns; and outputting previous result data of medical tests performedon the same patient in the layout in a separate column, so that previousresult data and current result data of the same medical test are in thesame row in the layout.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting theprevious result data of the medical tests in the layout comprisesoutputting the previous result data in a column to the right of thecurrent result data.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting theprevious result data of the medical tests in the layout comprisesoutputting previous result data of all instances of the medical tests.4. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the previous result data ofthe medical tests in the layout comprises outputting most recentprevious result data of the medical tests.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein outputting the previous result data of the medical tests in thelayout comprises outputting a date and time of a test eventcorresponding to the medical tests from which the previous result datawere recorded.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the currentresult data of the medical tests in the layout having columns comprisesoutputting a printed document.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinoutputting the current result data of the medical tests in the layouthaving columns comprises outputting the layout on a computer display. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the current result data andthe previous result data of the medical tests further comprisesindicating a date for each of the current result data and the previousresult data in the layout.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:identifying instances in which a current result of a medical test isabnormal and at least one previous result exists for the medical test;and outputting a graph in the layout with the abnormal current resultand the at least one previous result as data points.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein outputting the graph in the layout with the abnormalcurrent result and the at least one previous result as data pointscomprises outputting the graph at a bottom in the layout.
 11. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request to output a graph ofmedical data pertaining to a selected medical test, wherein the graphincludes data points corresponding to current result data and previousresult data of the selected medical test; and outputting the graph ofthe medical data in the layout.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein anaxis of the graph corresponds to a date of the current result or theprevious result data point.
 13. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a request to output a graph of medical datapertaining to a selected medical test, wherein the graph includes datapoints corresponding to current result data and previous result data ofthe selected medical test; and outputting the graph of the medical datain a separate layout.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprisingoutputting a graphical indicator for each medical test that indicateswhether the current result data of the medical test is low, normal orhigh, wherein the graphical indicator is a slidebar that illustrates ameasurement value for the medical test, wherein the graphical indicatoris output in the layout in a column between the current result data andthe previous result data so that the previous result data, the currentresult data and the graphical indicator of the same medical test are inthe same row in the layout.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising also outputting on the graphical indicator for each medicaltest whether the previous results of the medical test have been low,normal or high.
 16. The method of claim 14, further comprisingoutputting a range of reference data pertaining to each medical test inthe layout in a column between the current result data and the previousresult data so that the previous result data, the current result dataand the range of reference data of the same medical test are in the samerow in the layout, wherein the range of reference data defines valuesfor results of the medical test pertaining to a low and a high result.17. The method of claim 16, further comprising a textual indicator thatindicates whether the current result data is out of the reference range.18. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting a graphicalindicator for each medical test that indicates whether the previousresult data of the medical test was low, normal or high.
 19. The methodof claim 1, further comprising if a current or previous result data of amedical test is abnormal, outputting data pertaining to the current orprevious result data in a color different from normal results.
 20. Themethod of claim 1, wherein medical tests are performed by multipleinstruments, and wherein outputting the current result data and theprevious result data comprises outputting the current result data andthe previous result data pertaining to related medical tests in adjacentrows.
 21. The method of claim 1, further comprising: indicating a typeof instrument used to perform each medical test in a row above the rowincluding the current result data and the previous result data; andindicating within each row of result data in separate columns thefollowing information: a type of test performed, the current resultdata, the previous result data, a range of reference data that definesvalues for results of the medical test pertaining to a low and a highresult, and a graphical indicator that indicates whether the currentresult data of the medical test is low, normal or high.
 22. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request to output a graph ofmedical data pertaining to a selected medical test, wherein the graphincludes data points corresponding to current result data and previousresult data of the selected medical test, wherein an axis of the graphcorresponds to a date of the current result or the previous result datapoint; outputting the graph of the medical data in the layout;outputting a graphical indicator for each medical test that indicateswhether the current result data of the medical test is low, normal orhigh, wherein the graphical indicator is a slidebar that illustrates ameasurement value for the medical test, wherein the graphical indicatoris output in the layout in a column between the current result data andthe previous result data so that the previous result data, the currentresult data and the graphical indicator of the same medical test are inthe same row in the layout; and outputting a range of reference datapertaining to each medical test in the layout in a column between thecurrent result data and the previous result data so that the previousresult data, the current result data and the range of reference data ofthe same medical test are in the same row in the layout, wherein therange of reference data defines values for results of the medical testpertaining to a low and a high result.
 23. A computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon instructions for causing a processing unit toexecute the method of claim
 1. 24. A graphical interface for displayingmedical data, the graphical interface comprising: medical datapertaining to current results of medical tests in a layout having rowsand columns; medical data pertaining to previous results of the medicaltests in the layout in a column by the current results, so that previousresults and current results of the same medical test are in the same rowin the layout; and a graph in the layout illustrating medical data for amedical test in which the graph includes data points corresponding tocurrent result data and previous result data.
 25. The graphicalinterface of claim 24, wherein the graph in the layout illustratesmedical data for a medical test in which a current result of the medicaltest is abnormal and at least one previous result exists for the medicaltest, wherein the graph includes data points corresponding to theabnormal current result and the at least one previous result.
 26. Thegraphical interface of claim 24, further comprising a date and time of atest event corresponding to the medical tests from which the previousresults were recorded.
 27. The graphical interface of claim 24, furthercomprising a graphical indicator for each medical test that indicateswhether the current results of the medical tests are low, normal orhigh, wherein the graphical indicator is a slidebar that illustrates ameasurement value for the medical test, wherein the graphical indicatoris output in the layout in a column between the current results and theprevious results so that the previous results, the current results andthe graphical indicator of the same medical test are in the same row inthe layout.
 28. The graphical interface of claim 24, further comprisinga range of reference data pertaining to each medical test in the layoutin a column between the current results and the previous results so thatthe previous results, the current results and the range of referencedata of the same medical test are in the same row in the layout, whereinthe range of reference data defines values for results of the medicaltest pertaining to a low and a high result.
 29. A computer readablemedium having program code recorded thereon for execution on a computerto provide a report of medical data, comprising: a first program codefor outputting medical data pertaining to current results of medicaltests in a layout having rows and columns; and a second program code foroutputting medical data pertaining to previous results of the medicaltests in the layout in a column, so that previous results and currentresults of the same medical test are in the same row in the layout. 30.The computer readable medium of claim 29, further comprising a thirdprogram code for outputting a graph in the layout illustrating medicaldata for a medical test in which the graph includes data pointscorresponding to current result data and previous result data.
 31. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 30, wherein the third program codegenerates an x-axis date range that starts at the earliest previousresult date and ends at the current result date.
 32. The computerreadable medium of claim 31, where in the graph displays a date of afirst data point and a date of a last data point.
 33. The computerreadable medium of claim 32, wherein the graph further displays twoadditional x-axis dates between the date of the first data point and thedate of the last data point, wherein the two additional x-axis dates aredetermined by dividing the x-axis into four equal length segments. 34.The computer readable medium of claim 29, further comprising a fourthprogram code for outputting a graphical indicator for each medical testthat indicates whether the current results of the medical tests are low,normal or high, wherein the graphical indicator is a slidebar thatillustrates a measurement value for the medical test, wherein thegraphical indicator is output in the layout in a column between thecurrent results and the previous results so that the previous results,the current results and the graphical indicator of the same medical testare in the same row in the layout.
 35. A method of reporting medicaldata comprising: means for receiving current result data of medicaltests performed on a patient; means for outputting the current resultdata of the medical tests in a layout having rows and columns; and meansfor outputting previous result data of medical tests performed on thesame patient in the layout in a separate column, so that previous resultdata and current result data of the same medical test are in the samerow in the layout.